Small Numbers
by Dancing-Shiiverse
Summary: It was a simple equation, but when Ayano changed a few of the variables, Shintaro soon found himself trying his best to figure out the answer. Implied ShinAya.


**Just a quickie. :D**

* * *

**_1 + 1_**

'1 + 1' was the same as 'You + Me'. No matter how much one looked at the two equations, in the end, the formula was the same.

'1 + 1 = 2'

'You + Me = ?'

But the answer was not.

* * *

It was surprising, to say the least, when she had brought it up. '1 + 1' was drawn on the blank sheet of paper.

"Hey, Shintaro, what do you think of this?" She had asked. The male in question had only stared at the number sentence, and replied, in a tone which obviously showed that he was rather uninterested, "It's just a math question. An easy one, in fact." Ayano had smiled (for reasons unknown to Shintaro), and wrote another equation just below the first one.

'You + Me ='

"Now, what do you think the answer is, Shintaro?" She had warmly asked once again.

Shintaro had carelessly waved her question off, rolling his eyes, and spoke in a indifferent tone. "Time?" He had answered, not really giving his answer much thought. _It's just a waste of time. _

"That's an interesting answer…" Ayano had murmured, trailing off. Sighing, Shintaro pushed the paper away. "Let's just get back to the tutoring session. I don't know why you even asked me those pointless questions, Ayano."

"There's always a reason, Shintaro…" Ayano had cryptically replied, but she stopped there. Shintaro arched his eyebrow at that statement, but ignored it.

This whole question thing was getting a little annoying.

So, why was he trying to solve it now?

The boy had found himself working on the equation, for some strange and unexplainable reason.

"You + Me… It can't be time. What else..?" He remembered thinking of various answers, but all of them just didn't seem right. He was reluctant to ask Ayano about it, preferring to solve it himself. At least, he would be 'challenged' by the equation for a bit. As the days passed, he found himself getting irritated by the seemingly non-existent answer that he couldn't find. Whether it ranged from silly and illogical answers to serious and deep answers like 'Teasing' or 'Feelings', they just didn't seem.. Right.

In other words, he couldn't find the answer.

It bothered him for a few weeks, but he soon shrugged it off and forgot about it. He pushed it to the very back of his mind.

* * *

The day the equation came back, was the day in which he had just gotten over Ayano's death. Call it cliché, but that was really what had happened.

Tears stung his eyes as he tried to work on the equation again. He had no way of getting the true answer now, but felt that he still had to try and solve the question. It painfully reminded him of her, but he continued on.

"Master? Oi, Master!" The high-pitched squeal that came from his computer startled Shintaro for a moment. "It's something that I would rather not share." He replied, looking at Ene. The digital girl had sighed, but she left it at that.

Looking at the paper on his desk, he continued to study the equation.

'You (_Ayano_) + Me (_Shintaro) ="_

There was something missing, he realized. Immediately adding another factor into the sentence, his mind wondered if Ayano had wanted him to realize that fact.

'You (_Ayano) _+ Me (_Shintaro) _+ **Time =**'

Now, he had to find out what 'Time' stood for. Racking his brain for possibilities, it stumped him for a bit. Each day, he would sit on his chair, staring down at the paper. After at least fifteen minutes of mindless studying, he would then proceed onto his daily tasks. (Which was mostly using the computer)

The precious fifteen minutes that he had were quiet. There were no 'Master's during that small period of time, and Shintaro appreciated the fact that Ene chose the right time to stay silent. Whether it be a coincidence or simply because Ene was curious as to why he was staring at a piece of paper, Shintaro really, really, appreciated the silence.

Of course, Shintaro soon found what he was searching for.

'You (_Ayano) _+ Me (_Shintaro) _+ **Time (Memories) =**'

He simplified the equation, writing down another sentence right below the first one.

'Ayano + Shintaro + Memories ='

He was sure that he was close to the answer. The equation gave him a sense of nostalgia, as to why it did, Shintaro honestly had no idea. Perhaps, it had something to do with him writing out 'Ayano'?

* * *

'_Memories'_

Memories were important. They were mostly the reason why friendships formed, the reason why love blossomed, the reason why enemies are made.

One of the three was perhaps the answer.

He and Ayano were friends, so 'enemies' was definitely not the answer.

That left 'love' and 'friendship'.

Writing down all of the equations once again, Shintaro observed each and every sentence. He was getting a little obsessed, but the answer was close. He just knew it.

'1 + 1'

'You + Me'

'You (Ayano) + Me (Shintaro)'

'You (Ayano) + Me (Shintaro) + Time (Memories'

'Ayano + Shintaro + Memories'

Another variation of the equation came into his mind.

'You (Ayano) + Me/I (Shintaro)'

He was sure that 'Memories' was just a hint to the true answer. He sighed. If someone were to realize what he was doing, they would surely consider him to be crazy.

'You + Me' was only an equation, not something that Shintaro should be getting all worked up over. But the way Ayano had spoke, the way she had asked her question, he felt that there was a hidden meaning.

Thinking back, the time that he had spent with her were the times in which he felt happy.

Could the answer be..?

'You + Me = Happiness'

That made sense. But how about the other variation that he had stumbled upon? What was the answer, then?

His eyes widened a little in shock as a thought, as quick as lightning, popped into his mind. '_I… I guess, it's.. True..?'_

He checked the time.

_3 more minutes until this silence ends. _Funny how the fifteen minutes soon became a routine in his life.

Putting his pen onto the paper, he wrote his answer. His final answer.

* * *

Even if it seemed like it was just a cliché and bullshit answer that he himself had made up, Shintaro still felt that it was **_the _**answer. The answer that Ayano wanted Shintaro to figure out. (Even if Ayano's equation wasn't the same as his) It didn't really feel like an answer, more of a statement, but it just felt right to Shintaro. The solution that he had created, he knew, were the words that he would never get another chance to say.

_ 'You (Ayano) + Me/I (Shintaro) = I love you'_


End file.
